Every year a new toy causes mania in stores. This year, the perp in the UK is a plush carrot named Kevin.
Aldi shoppers in the UK were lined up early on Thursday morning with an “unprecedented number of customers” according to The Guardian, and many documented the mayhem on social media. The discount chain store played off of Black Friday, calling their shopping experience “Orange Thursday.” Metro UK reported that shoppers were shoving and fighting in line in an attempt to buy Kevin the giant carrot for £19.99, about $26.
Kevin has been the star of Christmas commercials for Aldi UK since 2016 and is one of many in the line of various Christmas vegetables, including Katie, Russell Sprout, and Tiny Tom.
“We know our Kevin the carrot soft toys and merchandise are incredibly popular with our customers and this year we increased the amount on offer,” Julie Ashfield, the managing director of buying at Aldi UK, told The Guardian.
Even with the limit of two soft toys per customer to give everyone a chance to get their hands on the holiday range, the shopping experience to get the beloved toys was frenzied, The Guardian reported: The buying spree left very little in the range of Kevin the carrot related merchandise, including the plush doll, stationery, and an inflatable snow globe.
“But as with all of our Specialbuys products, once they’re gone, they’re gone,” Ashfield explained.
Customers took to Twitter to share their experiences and the early morning lines, whether they were trying to nab themselves a Kevin or just go on with their usual Thursday grocery shop.
"Carrot frenzy in greenock @AldiUK this was it calming down! #KevinTheCarrot" one Twitter user wrote. alongside a video of an in-store crowd.
"Absolute scenes at @AldiUK this morning 😄🥕#KevinTheCarrot" another user wrote, captioning a video of a crowd at the merchandise section of the store.
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